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WHOM DOES DESIGN SERVE?



Whom Does Design Serve (WDDS) is a discursive platform that seeks to build conversations around the ethics and politics of design. We seek to unpack the ideas of goodness behind ‘Good Design’ through the act of asking questions- the first key question being who is it that design serves?

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Lucienne Roberts writes-

When designers start to question what words such as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and ‘soul’ really mean, they can’t avoid ethics. And that’s no bad thing.

We begin our inquiry into the ethics of design through the following two lenses of looking at whom design serves:



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The Powers
That Be?



Recent events have made us realise how technology, policy, and governance go hand in hand to support the dominant power structures. As with any other scenario, design implicitly plays a role in upholding them.

We envision a future where design’s role in this is made explicit and apparent, through a speculative fictional narrative.

  DESIGN FOR THE POWERS THAT BE  


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Power to
the People?



What happens when designers become conscious of the ethics of their practice, and how does one push for such a consciousness?

We examine this through our manifesto for an ethical practice, which we situate as a response to the preceding scenario, and propose new directions for design practice and pedagogy to explore.

  DESIGN FOR  POWER TO THE PEOPLE  


What’s Next?


Now that we’ve seen the two dimensions of practice, it makes sense to believe that an ethical practice would develop not from strictly enforced rules and regulations by a regulatory body, but from a place of introspection and self-awareness. Here are some tools and recommendations to help you with this!


CREATE YOUR OWN MANIFESTO!

We have a simple five point manifesto︎︎︎ for laying down some ethical foundations for a conscious design practice. You can write your own manifesto with our downloadable toolkit! ︎︎︎

JOIN THE
DISCOURSE

We believe that ethics can not be taught; only talked about. Join the discourse and get the conversation started on what you believe would make design a better tool for social good.

We have compiled a list of resources- books, films, short texts, news, thinkpieces, and memes. Design memes are an underrated tool for discourse. Watch, read, think, discuss, and share freely! 

HOST AN
EVENT

Host a WDDS discussion group, reading circle, exhibit, poster show, or conference, or use this in your classroom!

Get in touch now! ︎︎︎



Whom Does Design Serve (WDDS) is a think tank working on creating discourse on ethics in design practice and education.
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